The major components of the Visual Designer are the Toolbox, Design Canvas, Properties view, and Outline view.
Toolbox
The Toolbox is a list of controls that are available for use in the UI. You select controls that you want to place on the form from this list. You can customize the set of available controls and arrange them in logical groups that you define. Customized settings can be shared with other users or copied to other projects.
By default, each OpenEdge project you create uses a dedicated Toolbox that is specific to that project. Alternatively, you have the option of using the global Toolbox, which is shared among all or a subset of the projects in the workspace. You choose whether to use the global Toolbox when you create a project. For an existing project, you can view and change the setting on the Progress OpenEdge properties page.
Customizations that you apply while working in a project that uses the global Toolbox affect the Toolbox for all other such projects. For any projects that do not use the global Toolbox, customizations are saved on a per-project basis, enabling you tailor the Toolbox to the particular needs of different projects.
Note: The PROPATH for every project that uses the global Toolbox should include the project directories of all other projects that share the Toolbox. If these projects also share an AVM instance, Progress Developer Studio for OpenEdge automatically updates the PROPATH and takes care of this requirement. However, for any project that does not use the shared AVM option, be sure to manually add the appropriate directories to the PROPATH for each project.
Design Canvas
The Design Canvas is the editing area in which you model the appearance of the UI. It provides an accurate visualization of how the window will appear to the user at run time, with the exception that it does not display actual data. You use the mouse to size objects by dragging their borders, and to position controls on the form.
Properties view
While a Visual Designer editing window has focus, the Properties view includes both a Properties tab and an Events tab, where you can view and edit the visual and behavioral characteristics of the object or objects that are selected on the Design Canvas.
Outline view
While a Visual Designer editing window has focus, the Outline view shows each component of the design as a tree node. This hierarchical representation of the form or user control complements the graphical display on the Design Canvas. You can use the Outline view as an alternative means of selecting, copying, deleting, renaming, and re-parenting controls.
